Page 158 of The Protégé

Michelle:We can tell.

Elena:How can you tell?

Audri:Orion made a character of you in his video game! Remi showed me.

Natalie:Yeah. Grayson was playing the demo.

Michelle:A man who makes his woman a main character in his video game is a keeper.

Kiera:Madame Sarcasm kicks ass!

I laughed, wondering exactly what I looked like in his game. I’d forgotten he was working on it, along with everything else.

Vivian:Do you love him?

Wasn’t it obvious?

Elena:Yes.

Vivian:Then there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll move past this bump.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

ELENA

Friday arrived in a blink.I’d been so busy with Musepaper and trying to organize the next few months’ articles that I almost forgot about Vivian’s charity event. The article I’d written about the bank scam blew up even more after Jonah’s arrest, which led to the apprehension of the Duke of Cambridge. I was grateful for my PR team, who handled that side of the business for me.

Because Orion was an investor, I kept him updated even though he didn’t ask to be. He always had wonderful suggestions and guidance to help me choose the right candidate or vendor. But he left the final decision on Musepaper up to me. I appreciated that more than he knew.

Sabrina was arrested for helping Chantel launder money. Both of them had already posted bail, awaiting trial.

With everything squared away, I planned on taking next week off just to rest. I got dressed for Vivian’s event in the red dress that Orion had bought for me at the silent auction. This would be my first time wearing it after the fashion show.

I arrived at the Skyline Building, a tall business building in downtown Providence. I heard they had a great restaurant on the ground floor, but hadn’t visited it.

When I got to the restaurant, there were no customers inside. The waiter in a black suit smiled at me. “You must be Elena. Please come with me.”

I glanced around. “Where’s everyone?”

“The restaurant is closed today.”

“Oh.” What was going on here?

My phone buzzed with a text message.

Vivian:We won’t be able to make it today, babe. (Smile emoji)

Tell him how you feel. (Heart emoji)

Audri:A man who asks his girls’ besties for help is a man deeply in love.

Kiera:We want to know all the deets!

Michelle:Forgive the man for his obliviousness. (Heart emoji)

Audri:All men are oblivious. (Eye roll emoji)

Natalie:Some men need to hear the EXACT words to understand.

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